When You Need Me
by softballchic34
Summary: It's Grace's wedding day, it should be the happiest day of her life but someone important is missing. Future Fic AU. See warning in author's note.


**AN: **I promise I am still working on More Than Just a Broken Arm but the mouse button on my laptop stopped working properly and then my computer decided it only wanted to charge when it felt like it so I have not been able to work on the next chapter of MTJAB as much as I would have liked. Thankfully I have what is already typed of the next chapter backed up on my external hard drive so hopefully it won't be too much longer before I have the next chapter up now that I have a new laptop. The idea for this fic came to me a few months ago when I attended a friend's wedding and since over the weekend I was at my brother's house and did not have access to my files for MTJAB and couldn't watch Friday's episode of Hawaii Five-0, I decided to write this instead. It isn't my favorite (or best) piece of work, I'm not really sure if I even like this, but I figured I would share anyway. The title of this fic is taken from Bruce Springsteen's song When You Nee Me.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of the characters that appear on the show and I do not profit from this in any way. **

**WARNING: Off screen character death of core 4. Do not read if you do not like. **

"Hey Gracie, you ready?" Steve stuck his head through the door of the bedroom.

"Just about, Uncle Steve." Grace said as she turned to look at him.

"Wow, you look beautiful. Grace. Danno would be so proud of you." Steve stepped into the room and admired his honorary niece in her wedding gown.

"Do you think Dad is watching today?" She asked with a sad smile.

"I know he is." Steve pulls her into a hug. "He would be so so proud of you Gracie. And I know he would really like Michael."

Grace clung to him, and sniffled a bit, "I wish he was here today."

"Me too, Gracie, me too." Steve gave her another squeeze. "But Danno wouldn't want you to be sad today, though. This is your wedding day, it's supposed to be the happiest day of your life."

Steve's next words were interrupted by a knock on the door, "Steve? Grace? They are ready for you." Catherine's voice floated through the door.

"We will be out in a minute." Steve called. "You ready?" Grace nodded, "All right, give me a smile."

Grace gave him a bright smile. "That's my girl." Steve said as he held the door open for her. They made their way down to the beach where the ceremony would take place. Steve and Grace waited just inside the french doors of his house for the music to start before he walked her down the isle.

After a brief wait, the music started and everyone in attendance stood and faced the house to watch the bride walk to the alter. Grace looped her arm through Steve's as they began the walk.

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" the minister asked as they reached the alter.

"On behalf of her late father, her mother and I give our blessing to this union." Steve recited the words he practiced at the rehearsal dinner the previous night. Grace gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, whispering the words "I love you, Uncle Steve."

"Love you too, Gracie." Steve whispered. He took his seat in the front row next to Rachel and Catherine, discretely wiping a few tears from his eyes.

The ceremony passed in a blur for Steve as he thought back on the events that lead to this. Danny had been killed by a drunk driver 12 years ago when Grace was 13 years old. He had been on his way home after dropping Grace off at a friends house for a sleep over one Friday night and had been t-boned on the driver's side by a drunk driver who ran a red light. He had been killed instantly by the impact of the Ford pickup against his little Camaro.

Steve and Catherine had been the ones to tell Grace that her father was gone and she had stayed with them until Rachel had been able to get a flight back to Hawaii from Las Vegas. It had been a rough 24 hours for all of them before Rachel had arrived on the island with Stan and Charlie. The day after the funeral, Grace was set to move to Las Vegas with her mom and step dad but she had locked herself in the bathroom.

"_Grace Margaret Williams! Open this door right this second!" Rachel commanded from the hallway of Steve's house. _

_"No! I don't want to leave Hawaii and I'm not going to Las Vegas with you!" Grace shouted through her tears. "I want to stay here with Uncle Steve!"_

_"Grace, you know you can't stay here. You have to come with Stan and I. Steve can't take care of you, he isn't your family."_

_"Yes he is! He is mine and Danno's ohana. So are Chin and Kono and Catherine. I don't want to leave and you can't make me!" Grace yelled. She knew she sounded childish but she didn't care. Her life had been turned upside down in the last week and she didn't want to lose the only familiar thing she had left, her ohana in Hawaii. She had been living with Danno for the last two years since her mom and Stan moved back to the mainland when Stan had gotten a job there and she really didn't want to leave. Hawaii was her home. Besides that, while she loved her mom, she hadn't felt comfortable living with her and Stan since they moved to Las Vegas. She always felt very awkward, like an outsider, every time she visited them or they came to Hawaii and she stayed with them in the condo they rented while they were here. _

_"Rachel, give her some time to cool down. She has been through a lot in the last few days." she heard Steve say. _

_Two hours later, Grace was still locked in the bathroom, refusing to come out until Rachel had agreed to let her stay in Hawaii and live with Steve. If there was one trait she inherited from her father, it was her unending stubbornness._

_It took another two hours before Rachel finally caved in and agreed to let Grace live in Hawaii with Steve. _

_Although Steve wasn't happy with Grace's attitude towards her mother, he was secretly thrilled to have his honorary niece living with him. Losing Danny had been really though on him, as well as the rest of the Five-0 team, but he couldn't bear the thought of Grace moving to the mainland and never seeing her again. _

_Grace's relationship with her mother had suffered after she and Stan moved to the mainland when Grace was 11. It had only gotten worse after Danny died. They became distant and Grace held a lot of resentment towards Rachel for the way she treated Danny after the divorce and jerking him around when it came to his visitation rights with her. _

It had been a major adjustment for both of them to get used living life without Danny. It had been hard at first for Steve to take over the fatherly role to his best friend's daughter but over time he and Grace both got used to the new routine.

There were times when they got frustrated with each other but Steve wouldn't change any of it, short of bringing Danny back to life. Steve hoped he had done his best friend proud in the raising of his daughter. Grace had turned out to be remarkably well adjusted, despite the hardships she has faced in her life and her unorthodox upbringing after Danny passed. She graduated at the top of her class from the University of Hawaii with a degree in nursing and recently finished her master's degree to get her license as a nurse practitioner. She met Michael Regan as a freshman and they started dating soon after, despite him being a year older. Michael had been working as a physical therapist for a year at Queens Hospital.

Grace and Rachel had made some amends after she had divorced Stan a little over a year ago. They still didn't have a close mother daughter relationship but they were getting there.

Steve missed his best friend everyday, Danny was the last truly good friend he had and losing him almost killed Steve. He was sure that if he hadn't had Grace to take care of, he would probably have either ended up in prison for killing the man responsible for Danny's death or gotten himself killed on the job. He still had Five-0 with Kono and Chin and the three remained close. They had expanded the Five-0 Task force so it now consisted of 7 members; Steve, Chin, and Kono as well as three officers from HPD, Detective Devon Wicks, Officer Lani Kahale, and Officer Jamie Li, and Josie Perez, their tech support and surveillance specialist who works out of the office. None of them could replace Danny but they had managed to keep Five-0 going successfully over the years.

Steve finally worked up the nerve to ask Catherine to marry him two years after the accident. A few months later they had gotten married on the beach behind his house in a ceremony much like todays with just their close friends and family present. Grace had served as Catherine's junior bridesmaid with Kono being the maid of honor. Chin had been the best man and Kamekona had also served as a groomsman for Steve.

A year later, Catherine had given birth to their son, Daniel John "DJ" McGarrett and two years later their youngest son Benjamin Fredrick McGarrett was born. DJ and Ben, now 9 and 7 respectively, were serving as the ring bearer's for their big sister.

Steve was jolted out of his thoughts when the minister pronounced Michael and Grace man and wife and gave him permission to kiss the bride. He stood proudly as Grace and Michael walked back up the isle with elated grins on their faces.

_-H50-_

A couple hours later, after having taken some pictures and eaten the meal, Grace had her arms wrapped around her Uncle Steve as they danced to _When You Need Me _by Bruce Springsteen in the father daughter dance or rather uncle niece dance. The song had been Steve's choice, both he and Grace wanted to dance to one of Danny's favorite songs so Steve had narrowed it down to a few songs by Springsteen and Bon Jovi and he and Grace decided that this one would be the perfect song to honor Danny with.

_When you need me call my name_

_'cause without you my life just wouldn't be the same_

_If you want me come sunny skies or rain_

_When you need me just call my name_

"Thank you, Uncle Steve." Grace said as they danced to the song on the wood floor that was put down over the grass to make a dance floor.

"For what, Gracie?"

"For everything you have done for me. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you raised me after Danno died even though you didn't have to. You could have said no and made me go back to the mainland with Mom and Stan. You helped me so much after the accident by letting me stay here with you."

_if you miss me, I'll be there_

_To brush the sunlight from your hair_

_I'll be there to guide you when trouble walks beside you_

_If you need me I'll be there_

_And when this dirty world has been cold to you_

_I got two strong arms waitin' to hold you_

_And when those mean days come along_

_We'll stand together and we'll take 'em on_

_So if you need me just call my name_

"Hey, you know I would do anything for you. And you staying here helped me too. I hate to think about where I would be if you hadn't moved in with me. I should be thanking you."

"What do you mean?" Grace asked quizzically.

"You kept me grounded, Gracie. Having you here with me kept me from going off the deep end and 'doing something crazy' as your father would have said. If it weren't for you I probably never would have married Catherine and I wouldn't have DJ and Ben."

"They were great today. I wish Dad were here but I'm really glad I have you." Grace looks up at him with a teary smile. Today has been one of the happiest days of her life but she can't help but feel sad thinking about her dad not being here.

"I feel the same way. I'm so proud of you though, Gracie. Catherine and I want you to know that no matter what, you and Michael are always welcome in our house any time. The bedroom at the end of the hall is always going to be yours."

"Thanks, Uncle Steve. I love you."

"I love you too, Gracie. And I know if Danno were here he would be saying the same thing. He would be so proud of the person you have become. I know he is looking down on you smiling."

"I know he may not be here physically anymore, but he's here in spirit."

_When you need me call my name_

_'cause without you my life just isn't the same_

_'cause when this world kicked me around_

_You picked me up off the ground_

_So if you need me I'll be there_

As the song ended and Steve and Grace left the dance floor, Grace felt a warm breeze caress her face and she could have sworn she heard her father's voice whispering 'Danno loves you.'

"Love you Danno." Grace whispered just before Michael came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

**The End**

So let me know what you thought.


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